OPINION:
Vice President Kamala Harris denies that people within the White House are trying to undermine her. Appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan asked Ms. Harris about gossip that she is being set up to fail. Ms. Harris responded: “No, I don’t believe I’m being set up to fail. I’m vice president of the United States. Anything that I handle is because it’s a tough issue, and it couldn’t be handled at some other level.”
A critic might suggest her statement means that what she has been assigned to do — most importantly to fix the border problem — can’t be handled at the level of the president. That’s probably not what she meant, but how else to decode her statement? A vice president is not independent of a president and must carry out his wishes. If the border isn’t being secured, if other projects assigned to her are failing (and what are they?), the buck stops with the president.
When asked her “biggest failure,” Ms. Harris said she was not getting out of Washington enough. That’s easily fixable since she has access to a government plane that can take her anywhere in the world.
Let me suggest a way for her and the president to succeed in her assignment to solve the border problem: Take the materials that taxpayers have already paid for and are lying on the ground, and finish building the wall and making sure those who have entered the country illegally get vaccinated.
If the Biden administration’s policies were working, both his and her poll numbers would reflect their success.
Ms. Brennan volunteered to Ms. Harris an excuse for her lack of achievements. She said there is no doubt women are judged differently. A double standard does exist when it comes to women, but not just for the reason Ms. Brennan suggested. There is a double standard for Republican women, especially Republican Black women.
The most recent example is the election of Winsome Sears, the incoming lieutenant governor of Virginia. There has been no major media fawning over Ms. Sears (except on Fox News), no statements about how her victory advances the interests of African Americans and boosts the image of the GOP as less white and male. That’s because the media and the left are not in sync with Ms. Sears’ conservative beliefs and her refusal to accept the false notion that Black Americans are victims who cannot do much without the government’s help. That’s worse than a double standard. It is its own form of bigotry.
In the Ms. Brennan interview, there is no mention of a connection between Biden administration policies and inflation that has caused large increases in daily essentials, including gasoline and food. Nor is there an acknowledgment that the president has failed to shut down COVID-19 as he promised during the campaign. In a video conference call with governors on Monday, the president said there is “no federal solution” to the pandemic. That’s not what he suggested during his campaign for the job.
The public isn’t being fooled by all the blather coming from Ms. Harris and Mr. Biden.
In less than one year, the president and Ms. Harris have taken the economic and border successes of the Trump administration and turned them in the opposite direction. The two appear weak and indecisive. Voters are noticing. Polls show a red wave coming in the next election. It could be one reason why several on Ms. Harris’ staff have departed, and rumors are swirling of discontent among those who remain. It may also have contributed to retirement announcements by 15 House Democrats (so far). 2022 is not looking good for them, their party or the country.
• Readers may email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribpub.com. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book, “America’s Expiration Date: The Fall of Empires and Superpowers and the Future of the United States” (HarperCollins/Zondervan).
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